That which had been Arundel boys basketball’s downfall all night would be its ultimate demise — the reason South River pulled off its 71-70 revenge win Friday.
A free throw — the very one that would’ve put South River down two in the dwindling seconds of the fourth quarter — ricocheted hard off the rim and into James Crimaudo’s hands. The towering Seahawk protected the ball from prying Wildcats, then trusted the team’s fate to Liam Barney.
The stocky senior rolled down the floor with one of the most dangerous players in his path — Arundel’s Noah Frayer. Past the arc, Barney jabbed right and Frayer bodied him. Barney then darted left in a flash, slipping Frayer just long enough to smack into another Wildcat and hit the ground. He still made the go-ahead basket.
Barney sprang to his feet and let all his relief, pride and power rip through him in a guttural scream, already sinking into his teammates’ celebrations.
“Cold-blooded,” South River coach Darren Hall said.
It wasn’t over then. Barney’s free throw missed the mark and rebounded into Arundel hands. Five seconds — Frayer (30 points) dished to Javeon Reed, who missed a 3-point attempt. Two seconds — Samson Anjorin collected the loose ball and let another 3-pointer fly. Every head turned to watch. The buzzer sounded a millisecond before that ball grazed the net and dropped harmlessly to the floor.
“It wasn’t just a chance to beat a team that we lost to,” said Barney, referring to the fact the Seahawks fell to the Wildcats back in December when the results did not affect the county standings. “It was a chance to show how much better we are now versus then. I think we did show that.”
Hall saw that growth in Barney (10 points).
“We challenged him with that early, and he’s so talented,” Hall said. “He’s strong, he’s got maturity and he’s hitting his stride now. The past two, three weeks, he’s got a way of not getting rattled and he’s relentless.”
The win does not guarantee South River a spot in the county championship — in fact, Hall refuses to look at it that way, given there are still tough opponents in the two weeks ahead — but it gives them a leg up over everyone else.
South River (7-0) remains unbeaten in the county with Broadneck coming up Monday and a rematch with Severna Park looming the following Monday. The Bruins lost to the rival Falcons on Friday around the time Barney hit that last layup.
“These guys have believed from day one,” Hall said, “but we got dogfights ahead.”
With three fouls pinned on Jack Schrader (19 points) and four on Jaden McDuffie (10 points) and Crimaudo (10 points), the pressure of losing three of its most important offensive and defensive figures in the last two minutes threatened to cascade over the Seahawks. Instead of fear, their play exuded control.
“Our motto all year has been toughness and togetherness,” Hall said. “They really exemplified it today. We had some pretty tough games this past week, but we told them pregame: a smooth sea doesn’t make good sailors.”
There isn’t much more to say about the first quarter than Frayer netted 16 points in eight minutes for Arundel. He battled in for layups, jumpers, threes and free throws.
The Seahawks trailed 25-15 after one, but having Crimaudo sidelined with his third foul riled up his teammates. The undeniable leader of the South River offense and defense could have left a gaping hole for Arundel to fill — and yet, the angry dogs started biting.
Seahawks like Barney and Schrader forced turnovers. Schrader pulled boards that had belonged to Arundel in the first quarter. McDuffie silenced Frayer completely and dropped in a 3-pointer to boot. Barney carved a forest of green down for the go-ahead basket, 30-29.
“We felt like everything was against us at the time. We were determined not to let that control us, how we played the rest of the game,” Schrader said. “James came back. Everyone that came in for him played hard. We knew how to face that adversity.”
That’s how South River amassed a 38-34 lead through halftime, but it was clear from Arundel’s Temidayo Awosika’s first second-half leap for a put-back that even stopping a moment to take a breath would be disastrous to the team that did it.
“That’s an aggressive team and we knew that coming in,” Crimaudo said. “We like matching them in the zone recently, but we decided we had to go to man and it was gonna be a dogfight. We liked the odds.”
South River lost a key shooter in Jamie Finn to injury and Arundel — led by Ryan Alston — surged back to tie the game. Frayer had a chance to tie the Seahawks at the line before the third quarter ended, but both of his attempts rolled out.
However, the two 3-pointers Schrader fired on either side of Frayer did not.
That 54-49 lead convinced Arundel to lure loose balls away from South River and convert them for baskets, shortening it to 56-54 at the top of the third. But even as two back-to-back fouls hit Schrader he was still the rock in Arundel’s shoe — a steal to layup that preserved a lead and sent both teams to timeout.
Back and forth the pendulum swung as Frayer made three consecutive baskets to knot the score at 67 with a few minutes remaining. Crimaudo grabbed a defensive rebound and promptly went down and scored to give Arundel a two-point lead and moments later Alston sank a free throw to make it 70-69.
Then was the chance to win the game at the free throw line. The Wildcats failed.
“We normally knock them down. That’s a confidence thing and a focus thing,” Arundel coach Rodney Ramsey said. “The guys who missed them tonight normally don’t. It’s a tough environment, but it’s something we gotta press through.
“I told them: everything we’re going through now will help us for the playoffs.”
Ramsey was tasked unexpectedly to lead a prayer early in the first quarter. Official Victor Vaughan left the floor after suffering a medical issue, which inspired the teams to circle up together and listen to the Arundel coach’s words.
“Man, he’s one of the guys that’s a constant, one of the coaches’ favorites,” Hall said of Vaughan. “He does his best; even when we get on him. Our thoughts and prayers are with him because he’s a phenomenal official but even better guy.”
At halftime, South River celebrated its 2023 boys soccer state championship by raising a banner.
“There was a blank space in South River’s gym,” coach Marlyn Argueta said, “and it was filled by the South River boys soccer team.”
